Star-Lore

Inside the Floranian ship

Sakudara was sitting cross-legged near a tree-table, sipping something thick and golden from a vine cup.

Lyra was hanging upside down from a tree branch like a relaxed cat, flipping through a floating plant tablet. She looked up at the sudden noise.

Sharmitha dragged BoBo into the room. "It's happening again!" she said, breathless. "His chest is glowing!"

Saku blinked, immediately alert. "Is he gonna explode?!"

BoBo waved. "Hi!"

Saku jumped to his feet, backing up. "No hi! Turn it off!"

Lyra dropped from the tree branch with a soft thud, rushing over. "Did something trigger it?" she asked.

Sharmitha nodded. "That black ship! The moment he looked at it, the glow started."

Lyra's face changed. From calm… to sharp.

BoBo scratched his head. "Like... um... buzzing? But not in my ears. In my bones. It was saying… bad. Bad thing. Dangerous."

Saku picked up a stick, holding it like a sword. "You sure you're not about to turn into a glow-monster again?"

"I'm fine!" BoBo said proudly, chest still glowing faintly.

Then, just like that… the glow faded.

It dimmed slowly… like a fire going to sleep. His skin returned to normal. No blasts. No shaking. Just calm.

Everyone sighed.

BoBo smiled. "See? I'm chill."

Saku facepalmed. "He's gonna be the end of us."

Lyra stood up straight, her tone serious now. "We need to tell Spriggan.

Sharmitha nodded. "And if that glow was a warning… we better listen."

BoBo raised his hand like a student. "Can I tell Spriggan too?"

Sharmitha gently pulled him by the ear. "Come on, Mr. Power Battery. Let the grownups handle this."

As they walked off toward the command roots of the Floranian ship, none of them noticed that the mysterious ship was now moving… closer.

Sharmitha walked quickly through the wooden halls of the Floranian ship, her boots tapping softly on the smooth bark floor.

Bobo blinked, confused, but followed. His chest still glowed faintly under his shirt, not bright, but just enough to make Sharmi uneasy. It hadn't happened again after the balcony, but something still didn't feel right.

They turned a corner and nearly bumped into a tall Floranian.

He had deep green bark-like skin, soft moss covering his shoulders, and glowing amber eyes. His leafy eyebrows raised. "Oh? You two seem in a rush."

Sharmitha stopped. "Have you seen Spriggan?"

"Spriggan?" the Floranian echoed, tilting his wooden head. "No, he went below to meditate, I believe. Is something wrong?"

She hesitated, then nodded. "Yes. A ship. A strange one. We saw it following us from the balcony. But... it disappeared before we could tell anyone."

The Floranian blinked slowly. "A ship?" He glanced at the curved wall beside him and waved a vine-like finger. A panel of wood peeled open, revealing a glowing radar made of floating seed-lights and pollen-like dots hovering in mid-air.

He studied it carefully. The lights shifted, showing nearby asteroids, stardust, even a few passing comets. But no ships. Nothing behind them.

"There's nothing following us," he said calmly. "The radar sees all motion in a wide radius. No cloaked signals, no trails. You must've seen an echo or a shadow. It happens in this part of space."

"But... I saw it," Sharmitha insisted. "It was long and dark. No lights. Just... watching."

The Floranian offered a gentle smile. "I believe you. But trust me, you're safe here. Soon we'll be in the atmosphere of Florania. No one can enter our homeworld's skies without permission. Not even the Federation. And definitely not some phantom ship."

Sharmitha looked uncertain. Bobo leaned in, squinting at the radar.

The Floranian nodded. "Nothing. And we're almost home. You'll feel it soon the air gets warmer. The gravity shifts. The colors change."

As if on cue, the entire ship gave a soft hum. The walls around them shimmered slightly with pale green light. The ship was slowing down.

The Floranian looked back at them. "You don't need to worry. Spriggan will be back soon. He'll know what to do if anything is truly wrong. But for now... just breathe. We're almost safe."

Sharmitha nodded slowly. But as she looked through the window in the wall at the stars beyond, now beginning to thin as a green-and-gold planet came into view, she couldn't shake the feeling.